Croak! The old man of the pond is only seen at night, but Bilibin managed to capture a Vodyanoy one evening in his skazka style. His toadness is blamed for drownings if no corpse is found. Appease - tobacco/salt. Marriage photo by Soviet child Victor Korolkov

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In Greek myth Pegasus is the immortal, wild, winged horse who sprang from the neck of the beheaded Medusa & had the power to create water streams wherever he struck his hoof. Tamed by Bellerophon who rode his steed into battle against the fire-breathing Chimera.

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Most most often shown as women, kitsune are both male and female and are known as the most prolific demon lovers of Japan. Their children are famously powerful, such as Abe no Seimei, and while fiercely loyal, kitsune are seen as flighty as a fox.

🖼: IrenHorrors

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Emily just wanted to be loved...when she met Victor she thought he would mend her broken heart but he did something better: he gave her the chance to avenge her own death and punish the wicked man who caused it

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From the 1st century AD, a lamia was a female night demon who haunted & then devoured her victims. By the middle ages she was portrayed as a serpent who shapeshifted into a woman. In Waterhouse’s painting she is seen with snake skin still warm, seducing her prey.

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My favourite Cornish tale is that of The Mermaid of Zennor. A mysterious woman who never seems to age enchants everyone with her voice. She falls in love with Mathey Trewella, the best singer of the Parish. They were never seen again on dry land. 🧜‍♀️💙

🎨Weguelin

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Plants of Death in Walter Crane’s Floral Garden. “Kingcups drink belladonna”, the image suggesting an unwitting victim of a beautiful poisoner, while the queen has “nightshade upon her”. Her poisoned cloak bears the dark moon - the of poisons.

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Plant-women transformations of Daphne and Syrinx as they fled from their sexual aggressors highlights the benevolent capacity of botany, the interchangeable nature of plants and the female body and the theme of male entitlement

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Alchemilla mollis (lady’s mantle) has cup-like leaves for catching beautiful beads of dew. Alchemists saw magic in the plant, and the dew. It is said they used the drops to turn base metals into gold – hence the name Alchemilla, after the practice of alchemy.

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Gashadokuro are giant rattling skeletons wandering in the dead of night, often on old battlegrounds. Their teeth chatter & bones rattle. If you unluckily encounter one they'll likely crush you or bite off your head.

🎨Matthew Meyer, https://t.co/xobtRY1SJl

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'Under a juniper-tree the bones sang, scattered and shining
We are glad to be scattered, we did little good to each
other ...' T.S. Eliot. https://t.co/UnelJVsdkk

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The skeleton cosmonaut. The skeleton diver. Two images by Bradley Wright and Tobias Roetsch. The suit goes on giving the appearance of life when its human is only bones.

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"Dancing bones aren’t sinister and are one of the few forms of echoed life tolerated by Grandfather Funeral. They are the leftovers of wholesome souls . . ."
- Hulpi’s Helpful Tome
Dance of Death, 1820

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Hermes, as a psychopomp & guide of souls, is the one who takes the dead to the underworld & the sleeping mortals to the land of dreams to receive messages. He often helps the latter not to get stuck in an old dream & narrative, but to cross the line into the new.

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Rats in art:
"The Dance of Rats", Ferdinand van Kessel (Attr)
"The Council Held By The Rats," by Gustave Doré
"Two Rats", by Vincent van Gogh
"Boots and Rats", by C. Tudor

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In ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon. She is often presented as the female complement of the Sun,Sol,conceived of as a god. Luna is also represented as an aspect of the Roman triple goddess along with Proserpina and Hecate

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“Blood was flowing – in Bluebeard’s house, in the abattoirs, in the circuses where God had set his seal to whiten the windows. Blood and Milk flowed together”

Join the Dark Queens tomorrow for with your tales & images of

"Milk and blood!"

We RT after 2 pm GMT

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🌿🦄🌿For I'm giving a mention to the magical stepping stones that get me through the week...






And for a daily dose of re-enchantment💚

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"Firm to the mast with chains thyself be bound,
Nor trust thy virtue to the enchanting sound" (Homer)

Four artists' takes on trickster epitome Odysseus & his adventure with the sirens for

🖼️ Cw Waterhouse, Moreau, Etty & Draper

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